Cross country/John Wilbers:
Last year's W/L record, OA and NCMC; postseason successes. – DXC was the fourth year as consecutive boys conference champs. We also were the second-place district team in 2009, earning a boys team entry for state. The girls team last year had Sarah Ogar and Shelbi Prince individually earning all-conference, and Sarah continuing on to all district and running in state. We took first place at nearly every meet we competed in and beat over 35 different teams during the course of the season.
Returning seniors and honored players back – Shelbi Prince (captain), Ryan Pickering (captain), Tyler Ward (senior), Michael Cox (senior), Nate Hitchcock (senior), Ben Zinkel (senior).
How many years as MHS head coach will this be for you – 8.
General outlook – DXC is going to remain this year a top-notch competitive running team. Although losing Sam Kelly, Sarah Ogar, Scotty Barker and Brandon Brott (all state qualifiers) is a hurdle for the team, the new upperclassman have already stepped up and seem determined to continue our dominance. The team captains (Prince and Pickering) got kids together for running throughout the summer and are setting an example for the rest of the team in practice. We also have some outstanding new freshman talent that will be running varsity this year for sure on both the boys and girls teams. In fact the girls will be fielding the strongest overall team in years and I think it will be really exciting for parents, spectators and the kids. Our boys team may not have the individual district front-runner this year, but I think we are bringing an overall faster group of kids to the line. Outlook summary? Some new faces and a new strategy, closer races, but expecting to win and looking to dominate.
Keys to success – Lots of the kids got together over the summer on their own to keep in shape; you can really tell the difference for the ones that ran! Dedication, team spirit, team goals, good kids. Success can breed complacency; however, I think for this group of kids our previous years of success has built high expectations and a tradition of winning on which we capitalize.
How see NCMC race shaping up Right now I think we are still front- runners as a team in the conference. However, Moberly and several other teams do have some outstanding individual runners that will likely take some first-place finishes, but I think we will continue to have a stronger overall team; it will be very challenging if we want to try and take the conference again. Mexico is the "team to beat" which means we have a target on our backs. But if these kids want to win it, they can, I am sure.
Other comments – Outstanding assistant coach Ryan Cross brings a lot to the team training and success. Also thanks to the parents for outstanding support and participation.
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Cross country/John Wilbers:
Last year's W/L record, OA and NCMC; postseason successes. – DXC was the fourth year as consecutive boys conference champs. We also were the second-place district team in 2009, earning a boys team entry for state. The girls team last year had Sarah Ogar and Shelbi Prince individually earning all-conference, and Sarah continuing on to all district and running in state. We took first place at nearly every meet we competed in and beat over 35 different teams during the course of the season.
Returning seniors and honored players back – Shelbi Prince (captain), Ryan Pickering (captain), Tyler Ward (senior), Michael Cox (senior), Nate Hitchcock (senior), Ben Zinkel (senior).
How many years as MHS head coach will this be for you – 8.
General outlook – DXC is going to remain this year a top-notch competitive running team. Although losing Sam Kelly, Sarah Ogar, Scotty Barker and Brandon Brott (all state qualifiers) is a hurdle for the team, the new upperclassman have already stepped up and seem determined to continue our dominance. The team captains (Prince and Pickering) got kids together for running throughout the summer and are setting an example for the rest of the team in practice. We also have some outstanding new freshman talent that will be running varsity this year for sure on both the boys and girls teams. In fact the girls will be fielding the strongest overall team in years and I think it will be really exciting for parents, spectators and the kids. Our boys team may not have the individual district front-runner this year, but I think we are bringing an overall faster group of kids to the line. Outlook summary? Some new faces and a new strategy, closer races, but expecting to win and looking to dominate.
Keys to success – Lots of the kids got together over the summer on their own to keep in shape; you can really tell the difference for the ones that ran! Dedication, team spirit, team goals, good kids. Success can breed complacency; however, I think for this group of kids our previous years of success has built high expectations and a tradition of winning on which we capitalize.
How see NCMC race shaping up Right now I think we are still front- runners as a team in the conference. However, Moberly and several other teams do have some outstanding individual runners that will likely take some first-place finishes, but I think we will continue to have a stronger overall team; it will be very challenging if we want to try and take the conference again. Mexico is the "team to beat" which means we have a target on our backs. But if these kids want to win it, they can, I am sure.
Other comments – Outstanding assistant coach Ryan Cross brings a lot to the team training and success. Also thanks to the parents for outstanding support and participation.
Volleyball/Rachel Leu:
This year we have one senior, Sherrell Cooks, who has not played the last couple of years due to injuries. We are looking forward to the athleticism she will bring to the team.
This is my seventh year as head coach at MHS.
Overall, we are a young team composed of mostly sophomores and freshmen. However, we do have several juniors who saw varsity time last year and expect them to start filling in as leaders on the court.
The key for us is to have more consistent play.
Conference play is going to be really tough; there are some really strong programs. We hope to be more competitive in these games, more so than in the last couple of years.
I am excited about having Micah Becker as the new assistant coach. She has stepped in and has done a great job working with the girls.
Boys soccer/ Chris Hotop:
The boys soccer team had an overall record of 3-18 and a conference record of 1-11. We have no seniors on the team this year.
I and Jason Clow are in our second year coaching the team.
We have 16 players on our roster and we will be playing a varsity-only schedule. Although the team is young we have 10 returning lettermen and that experience should be beneficial to our success this season.
One of the keys to a successful season will be the emergence of a leader on the field. We also need better communication between the players on the field. We have spent a lot of practice time on our passing and shooting, our ability to make good decisions in these areas will be very important in improving on last years record.
The favorites in conference should be Moberly and Marshall.
We are looking forward to an exciting year and an opportunity to improve on last year.
